Experience
Clients
A few of Calfee's Environmental Law clients include:
- Americhem, Inc.
- Carboline Company
- Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
- CIBC
- City of Dayton, Ohio
- DiGeronimo Companies
- Dow
- Ferro Corporation
- Hemisphere Development
- Independence Excavating
- Kirker Enterprises, Inc.
- LaFargeHolcim
- L.D. Kichler
- Linsalata Capital Partners
- Morrison Products, Inc.
- Neenah Foundry
- Noble Environmental
- Nucor Steel Marion, Inc.
- Praxair, Inc.
- RPM International Inc.
- Rust-Oleum Corporation
- Shelly & Sands, Inc.
- State of Ohio
- Sunoco, Inc.
- Union Carbide Corporation
Recent Work
- Rust-Oleum Corporation, and its predecessor Testors — Calfee has been retained as successor counsel to represent Rust-Oleum at the Acme Farms Disposal Site, a National Priority List Superfund Site located in Rockford, IL. Calfee was asked to step in to facilitate the reorganization of the Site PRP Group. The objective is to refocus the Group’s work on site closure/delisting by USEPA after 30 years of unsuccessful efforts. A unique complication is the recent Illinois EPA approval of the construction of a solid waste landfill surrounding the Superfund site.
- Union Carbide Corporation and Praxair, Inc. — Calfee continues to represent (since 1986) this wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company as well as Praxair in their participation in the nationally precedent-setting Great Lake Legacy Act (alternative to Superfund) cleanup of the Ashtabula River and the cleanup of Fields Brook, a tributary of the Ashtabula River. A public/private partnership leveraged funds to dredge contaminated sediment from an urban riverbed much more cost-effectively than under the Superfund Program including the completion of natural resource damage recovery activities.
- Linsalata Capital Partners — Calfee has represented this large, Ohio-based private equity fund since 1985 in the environmental due diligence and related negotiations in all purchases and divestitures of its operating businesses, with combined revenues in excess of $2 billion.
- RPM International Inc. — Calfee has represented this Fortune 500 paint, coatings, and related industrial and consumer products holding company as general counsel since the 1960s, specifically with respect to environmental, the nationwide management of its subsidiaries’ offsite, and legacy environmental liabilities.
- Catholic Diocese of Cleveland — Calfee represents the Diocese with respect to efforts by a neighboring real estate developer to investigate, and if necessary, remediate, potential soil gas contamination migrating onto church and school property under Ohio’s voluntary remedial action program.
Brownfield Redevelopment
Calfee has extensive experience in brownfield redevelopment projects across Ohio. Our attorneys have counseled clients on creative redevelopment strategies, which allow clients to redevelop sites in a cost-effective, timely, and protective manner. Calfee also has extensive experience with Ohio’s Voluntary Action Program, the State’s voluntary cleanup program, as well as with CERCLA and RCRA cleanups under both State and Federal oversight. Chris Jones also has served as an expert witness in two major remediation cases.
Solid and Hazardous Waste
The environmental attorneys at Calfee have wide-ranging experience with solid and hazardous waste issues, laws, and regulations. We advise individuals, companies, and municipalities on all laws, guidance, and issues relating to CERCLA (“Superfund”), unregulated hazardous waste sites, hazardous substance inventories, solid and hazardous waste generation, solid and hazardous waste treatment, disposal and transport, RCRA, underground storage tanks, and all state and local legal equivalents.
In addition to compliance counseling, we also defend clients when they fall subject to CERCLA and RCRA enforcement or administrative actions or RCRA negotiations involving the RCRA Penalty Matrix to reduce penalty assessments.
- Superfund/unregulated hazardous waste sites
- Emergency planning and community right-to-know
- Hazardous substance inventories
- Solid and hazardous waste treatment and disposal
- Underground storage tanks
Representative Solid and Hazardous Waste Matters
- Represented RCRA permittees in negotiations concerning permit conditions.
- Represented RCRA permittees in proceedings before Ohio EPA concerning closure plans and activities.
- Represented RCRA permittees in administrative enforcement proceedings before Ohio EPA and U.S. EPA.
- Represented private parties named as PRPs under CERCLA with regard to various multi-party Superfund sites.
- Represented a publicly traded industrial gas manufacturer in litigation and administrative proceedings relating to a multi-party Superfund site where onsite incineration was a component of the remedy.
- Represented a subsidiary of a major chemical manufacturer in administrative and contempt proceedings brought by the State of Ohio relating to an RCRA closure and groundwater remediation.
- Provided counsel to landfill owners and operators on solid waste compliance matters involving limits of waste placement, cell construction, liner integrity, permitting, and disposal practices.
- Represented a closely held coatings company and its principal in a state-led felony prosecution relating to alleged hazardous waste disposal.
- Represented a publicly traded metals manufacturer in a private cost recovery action against a multinational oil company to obtain reimbursement of costs for TCE soil and groundwater contamination remediation.
- Represented a manufacturer in an RCRA enforcement case to reduce proposed penalties/fines in negotiations with government regulators using the RCRA Penalty Matrix.
- Counseled various clients on RCRA compliance matters and established RCRA compliance programs for generators and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities.
- Represented landfill owners and operators in solid waste enforcement cases in Ohio.
- Represented private parties and local governments with regard to underground storage tank regulation and remediation.
Water/Wetlands/Air
- Stormwater runoff
- Effluent treatment and discharge/NPDES/POTW
- Groundwater investigation and remedial action
- Drinking water
- Wetlands identification and protection
- Coastal protection and development
- Air emissions identification, permitting, and control
- Noise and nuisance control and abatement
Litigation and Enforcement Proceedings
- Environmental contractual indemnity claims
- Citizen suits and class actions
- Civil and criminal proceedings
- Administrative hearings and appeals
- Toxic torts
Representative Environmental Litigation Matters
The following represents a sample of some of our recent environmental litigation matters:
- Publicly traded industrial gases manufacturer in litigation and administrative proceedings relating to a multi-party Superfund site where on-site incineration was a component of the remedy.
- Fortune 200 chemical and plastics manufacturer in litigation and administrative proceedings relating to a multi-party Superfund site involving claims of surface water, stream sediment, and wetlands contamination.
- Subsidiary of a major chemical manufacturer in administrative and contempt proceedings brought by the State of Ohio relating to an RCRA closure and groundwater remediation.
- Suburban municipality in Clean Water Act litigation relating to improvements to its POTW and NPDS permit compliance.
- Publicly traded metals manufacturer in a private cost recovery action against a multinational oil company to obtain reimbursement of costs for TCE soil and groundwater contamination remediation.
- Suburban municipality in negotiations relating to resolution of alleged violations of a Clean Water Act federal consent decree and judicial termination of the decree.
- Container manufacturer in administrative proceedings concerning U.S. Department of Transportation hazardous materials labeling compliance.
- Privately held carbon products manufacturer at a Superfund site involving alleged trans-shipment and reclamation of hazardous substances.
- Closely held paint manufacturer in state-led enforcement proceedings involving the remediation and closure of a municipal landfill.
- Subsidiary of a multinational corporation in defense of a class action involving claims of widespread personal injury and property damage arising out of an explosion and fire on a transporter’s vehicle while traveling on an interstate highway.